Core barrel



J. T. PHIPPS Oct. 11, 1927.

CORE BARREL Filed Aug. 25, B235 @mom-asm@ .i @chainsaw JOHN T.

??HIPES, QF HUNTENGTON EARK, CALEFORNIA..

CORE BARREL.

Application tiled August 23 This invention relates to the oil welldrilling industry. lt is necessary to identify the strata which ispenetrated'when a. well is being bored, in order to know when drillingshould be stopped and the casing lowered and cemented in place. lt iscommon practice in this industry to use a core barrel for taking coresfor samples of the strata, the core being lifted to the surface of theground with the core barrel which is attached to the lower end of thedrill. pipe.

lt isian object of this invention to provide a new and improved form ofcore barrel.

'.lhe ordinary core barrel consists of a shell i which is attached tothe lower .end of the drill pipe. At the lower end of the shell is anannular` cutter and extending upward from the cutter inside the shell isa barrel. When the core barrel is rotated the annular cutter forms acore which extends upward into the barrel. 'lhe upper end of the barrelis provided with a check valve which isadapted to permit rotary mud topass from the barrel into the shell but not in a reverse,

direction VRotary mud is supplied tothe cutter through the shell aroundthe barrel, this rotary mud being prevented from entering the barrel bymeans of the check valve. lhere is a liabihty that the check valve willbe prevented from seating. This permits the rotary mud to pass throughthe barrel from, the shell. Since this rotary mud is under a highpressure, the core being formed is some-` times entirely washed out ofthe barrel.

lt is an object of this invention'to provide a core barrel in which theinterior of the barrel has absolutely no connection with the interior ofthe shell.

Another object of niy invention is to provide a core barrel in which thebarrel thereof is vented to the exterior of the shell so that theinterior of the barrel will be of the same pressure as the pressure inthe lower end of the well, and therefore there can be no reverse flow ofrotary mud through the barrel.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide an improved cutterwhich will cut a true bore substantially to gage for a substantialperiod of time.

1t is another object of the invention to make a core barrel havingthorough circulation of lubricating fluid,

1t is "an object of the invention to provide a core barrel having alubricated core catcher.

, 1925. Serial I\IT0. 130,859.

@ther objects and advantages of the invention will be made evidenthereinafter..

Referring to the drawings in which l illustraite my invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3, being asection through a core barrel embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical end of the core barrel.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of F ig. l;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of F igfl.

vReferring to the drawings and particularly -to Fig. 2, the numeral 1ldenotes an section of the upper upper body which is threaded at 12 atits 'to upper end so that it maybe secured to the lower end of a drillpipe. Formed vertically through the body 11 is a rotary mud passage 13.l-he lower end of the body 11 is reduced in size, as indicated at 14,andan upper end of'a top section 15 of' a shell 16 is extended onto thisportion 14. The top section 15 and the body 11 ma be secured together bywelding 17. The ower end of the top section 16 is threaded portion 18,onto .which an internally threaded portion 19 of a bottom section 2O ofthe shell 16 is secured.

The lower end of the bottom section 20 is provided with a threaded pin22 which is adapted to be screwed intoa socket 23 of a boring element24. The boring element 24 has a body 25 from which substantiallyradially extending cutting wings 27 extend., Formed at the lower end ofthe bodyv 25 are teeth 28 which are in annular arrangement and whichsurround the lowerend of an opening 30 formed through the boring element24. Placed in anenlarged part 3l of the opening 30 is a cylinder 32, towhich core provided with an externally o@ holders in the form of springarms 33 are y secured.

The lower end of a barrel 35 is screwed into a socket 36 formed at thelower' end of the bottomrsection 2O immediately above a neck 37thereof.. rlhe opening 30, the neck 37 Aand the interior of the barrel'35 are in communication and in axial alignment with each other.

Secured to the upper end of the barre135 is 38 is a nipple 39 whichextends upward therefrom. The upper end of the nipple 39 E05 a reducer38 and attached to the reducer l joint.

f slotte l these two parts may extends into a socket 40 which forms theVlower end of a vent pipe 41; The nipple fits snugly in the socket so asto form a tight provided with atapered guide portion 42 which extendsoutward and engages the interior face of the shell 16. The guide portion42 has openings 43 formed therethrough. Referrinor to Fig. 2, the ventpipe 41 has an upperV o set portion 44which` is attached to the lowerend of the body 11 in communication with a vent opening thereof. Theoffset portion 44 may be secured to the body 11,-as by welding indicatedat 46. It willbe seen that it is necessary to offset the vent pipe-41sothat it ma; be connected to the vent opening 45 whic is formed inthekbody 11 at one side ofthe passage 13. In orderl to rigidly securethe vent j ipe in place,

at the upper end of the vent pipe and be welded together as indicated at47. l l Rotary mud which is supplied to the boring element 24 is forceddownward through the passage 13 and through the shell 16 around thebarrel 35. Formed at the lower end of the bottom section 20 of the shell16 immediatel above the pin 22 are bosses 48 in which dyucts 49 areformed. The ducts 49 are positioned, as will be seen in Fig. 3, so as todirect the rotary mud along the cutting face of each of the cuttingwings 27. When the core barrel is, set into operation, the cutting wings27 and the teeth 28 cooperate to4 form a core which, as drillingprogresses, gradually moves upward barrel 35. When a suiicient core hasbeen formed it is broken and the core barrel is elevated. The -coreholders 33 which are sprung outward by the core during its` enterthefact lthat the nipple ing the barrel 35 will move inward into thepositions shown in Fig. 1, thus supporting the core within the barrel35. p

In order to remove the core from the' barrel 35 it is necessary toseparate the top and bottom sectionsv 15 and 2,0 of the shell 16. Thetop section and the parts secured thereto are then removed, this givin@access to the up r end of the barrel 35. lly reason of 39 is only infricthe socket 40, this be accomplished. The bartional engagement withseparation may rel 35 is then unscrewed from the bottom sec--l tion 2Oand the core may then be removed therefrom.

An important feature of the invention is lthat the upper end of theinterior of vthe barrel 35 is not in communication with the interior ofthe shell 16 or any of the passages in the core barrel through which therota mud is suppliedto the boring element 24. he barrel 35, aspreviously explained,

is connected to the exterior of the core barrel by means of the vent andvent opening The lower end of the socket 40 is vthe vent 45 maythe.shell 16 may be into the- 41 and 45 respectively. The static ressurinside the barrel 35 is the same ast at out'- side of the core barrel;therefore, there will be n'o flowof rotary mud through the barrel 35 ina reverse direction." As the core is formed and extended through thebarrel 35 the rotary mud therein will be displaced and will pass upwardthrough the venting arrangement to the exterior of the core barrel. Themud passage is made eccentric so that be made quite large. It isdesirable to have a large vent so that liability of clogging lwill bemade a minimum.

A feature of the invention resides in the form of cutter wings 2 Lowerfaces 60 of ,the wings slope upward towards the outside and have anexcellent centralizing action. The outer cutting faces of the wings havenotches 61 which render the.cutting edges interrupted. This is found tobe very helpful in boring an accurate hole.

Another feature of the invention is present in the core catcher. videdwith an annular grease chamber 63 which may be packed with grease, thusassuring a free rotation of the cylinder and core catcher arms. 4

A still further feature 48 in which the ducts 49'are formed. There isplenty of clearance around the bosses for upward-moving cuttings.

I cla'imlas my invention:

1. -A core barrel comprising: a body; a

boring element at the lower' end. of said body; a barrel supported insaid body, the lower end of said barrel being open to the lower end ofsaid body, said barrel being secured to said body. at its lower end; anda vent pipe supported inside said body and in communication with Vtheexterior of said body, said vent pipe which the upper end of said barrelexbody, said ven`t pipe having a socket into which the upper end of saidbarrel extends, said barrel being'vented by said vent pipe, there beingmeans in said body for conducting rotary mud to said means not being incommunication with said barrel or said vent pipe.

3. A core barrel comprising: a body; a boring element at the lower endof said body; a barrel supported in said body, the lower end ofsaid'barrel being open to the lower end of said body; and a vent pipesupported inside said body and in communicahaving a socket into Thecylinder is proexists in the bosses boring element, said 1,644,947 y y f3 tion With the exterior of said bod said from said boring element,lower faces being Vent pipe having a socket into which the sloped upwardtowards the outside 'and 10 upper end of said barrel extends, saidbarrel having notches formed in the outer cutting being vented by saidvent pipe, there being faces. l

5 aI guide portion at the lower end of said Vent In testimony whereof,have hereunto set pipe for guiding said barrel thereinto. my hand at LosAngeles, California, this 4. In combination` in a core barrel: a bor-'17th day of August, 1926.

ing element; and wings extended outward JOHN T. PHIPPS.

